Things Change
by Jennbunjmer
Summary: Bella attends college at Dartmouth with Alice. What happened in her past relationship to have her so skeptical about letting in another guy? Will he ever be able to break down her walls? Edward/Bella. A/H Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Ok! So I had a random idea to start a new story, I reread my other one… and just didn't like the whole beginning really. So I'm gonna start over, And I hope if you guys read this you'll review, because constructive criticism helps me the most! Thankyou! (:**

_Things Change_

**Chapter 1: College.**

I know this is a part of the whole 'college scene'; going to parties, cramming for tests the night before you have to take them, and meeting new and exciting friends. Well usually none of this is part of my college scene, I'm Bella Swan. I'm 19 and a freshman at Dartmouth. And I'm not one of 'those kids', the ones where you see with the university sweatshirt on and you immediately think "Oh she's rich." But that's not the case fore me, I worked hard for my scholarships that got me to this point, I'm not even half-rich. But anyways, I was never really into the whole 'ya let's go get drunk at a party and wake up to some guy you've never met laying in your bed.'

I have morning classes, then I go to work at the campus coffee shop, I go to my apartment and study. That's pretty much my life, which is hard to believe considering I'm roommates with Alice Cullen, who is an avid party-thrower. We're complete opposites (other than our smarts which got us into this school), I study and have almost no time for anything else, and she goes to parties every weekend.

Even though our personalities are completely different, we've been best friends since middle school. We met in 8th grade and have inseparable since. We've always been there for each other, she helps me do all those girly things, like shopping, when I have something to go too, and I've been there to hold her hair back on those late nights when she's had a little too much to drink. It's a great relationship.

Even with her as my friend I was still shocked to fine myself at one of her friends' houses on a late Friday night. Yup, me, Isabella Swan at some 'awesome' party. And let me tell you I was completely out of place, Alice left me the moment some cute guy asked her to dance. I walked over to the kitchen to try and find some beverage that was non-alcoholic, considering I had work the next morning. Without any luck I wandered onto the back porch where a couple was making out feverishly on the porch swing.

'_That's yummy'_ I thought sarcastically, as I walked out further into the yard where there was a pool and some pool chairs. I sat down on one of the vacant ones wondering why I was really here. Obviously this wasn't my scene considering I turned down some drunken guy to dance, and there was nothing that I preferred drinking at a party. Wow, I must be really lame, I looked around noticing most other people were in at least pairs of two. Except for a guy sitting across the pool from me, he looked just as uneasy about this whole thing as I was.

He looked up at me with bright emerald green eyes and I looked away as a blushed. I never was quite the person to date or have and relationships with guys. I had one serious boyfriend… Well one boyfriend total in my life that ended horribly, now I was just too nervous to date someone again because of how I got treated. But I guess I was just too ordinary, ya know- the brown hair, brown eyes, short, klutzy. Nothing to interesting about me, no guys really noticed me other then when I drop a book in a class or something. Not the kind of attention I wanted.

Amidst my thinking I didn't realize the guy had come up to me and stood before.

"Hello, is this chair taken?" He gestured to the seat next to me as his words flowed effortlessly. I kinda just sat there and looked up at him with blank eyes and nodded 'no' as he sat down.

He reached out his hand and spoke again "I'm Edward Mason. And honestly, I feel completely out of place here." I chuckled at his straight-forwardness.

"Hi, I'm Bella Swan, and I have the same problem. I've never actually been to a party before." I kinda blushed again, damn my easy embarrassment.

"Yea, I haven't either. My friend Jasper said it'd be good for me to get out and interact with other people instead of studying for the night." Wow, this guy, who was completely cute, preferred school of parties. Hey maybe the whole world isn't going down after all.

"My best friend Alice said the same thing to me. Its just hard to enjoy something that you're not interested in, especially if you have to work in the morning."

"How old are you Bella?" He inquired eyes full of curiosity.

"Nineteen, but I bet over half the kids here aren't legal drinking age." We laughed in unison as we looked around at the others stumbling around us.

"I'm not one of those kids actually," I snickered softly, "I just turned 21 a few months back, not like it helps me, I never did enjoy drinking too much."

"I've had a few of those crazy drunken nights and decided it wasn't for me either. Sometimes I'll drink in moderation, but my yearly dose of alcohol would probably add up to two of these parties for some people here." Truth be told, the last time I drank was with my ex-boyfriend, that night will trouble me forever. But I wouldn't tell this complete stranger that…

"I know what you mean." It stayed silent for a few moments before he spoke again. "You mentioned you have work in the morning? Where do you work?"

"The coffee shop by the main building, not much money comes out of it. But it helps with the bills." I shrugged realizing that I loved my job, but others question why.

"That's cool. Maybe I'll stop by in the morning; I always could use some fresh coffee." He laughed.

I laughed, "Ok, cool." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice coming up to me.

"Hey Bells, are you ready to go? Its getting late and I know you work in the morning." She said as she'd eyed Edward suspiciously.

"Yea, I'm ready." I turned back to Edward as I stood up. "Maybe I'll see you around school or something."

"Yea, I'll stop in for some coffee one of these days. Bye Bella."

I waved goodbye as I followed Alice to the car. "So who is he?" She asked the moment we were on the road back to the apartment.

"Edward Mason, surprisingly a guy just like me; not into the party thing and studies." I laughed at how boring my life really was.

"He was cute! When are you gonna see him again?" I pondered over her statement, he was cute, the bright emerald eyes, bronze hair.

"I'm not sure; he said he'd stop in for coffee some time. So we'll see." With my luck I'll never see him again I thought to myself.

"Hopefully tomorrow at work! That's so exciting you met someone at a party! Didn't I tell you it'd be good for you?"

"It was only good when he came up to me, I'm sorry Alice I don't think I'm a very good party pal. I think that was my last one for awhile." She laughed at my half-sarcasm.

"Awe, that's ok Bells! I knew you weren't, I just wanted to give it a shot. I also met a cute guy, and we were both sober this time so we'll remember it. His names Jasper and he's just adorable." Hmmm, that was funny that was the guy Edward mentioned as his friend, small world I guess.

We got home and I got ready and hopped into bed, I wasn't used to so much in one evening. I fell asleep quite quickly hoping I'd see him again soon.

**A/N- Ok, I didn't know how to end the chapter, so I kinda just stopped there. So please once you read, Review, I'd really appreciate it! (:**


	2. Memories

**A/N- I hope everyone had a good Christmas! I did (: I would've updated sooner, but I was held captive at my dad's apartment… Which has no computer. And please keep reviewing! That's what helps me write faster :p **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own it, :|**

**Chapter 2: Memories**

"_No! Don't, please just leave me alone. I'm tired of being blamed for things that I don't do!" I screamed at him as I stepped back as far as I could go to the wall, scared._

"_Bella, I'm not going to hurt you." He said with a smug smile taking a step towards me again._

"_You already are! Kaiden, you are always screaming at me, yet I do nothing to deserve it. You make up things you 'think' you say, or heard just so you can get this satisfaction of controlling me." My yell pierced the silence surrounding us._

_He stepped closer to me, closing the gap that once was between us. "My dear Bella," He started and grabbed my wrists in his hands, "I don't make up all this stuff, I've heard from numerous people that you've been sneaking around behind my back with another guy. And of course you would deny it, so I have nothing to do but believe what they say. But if you would just listen to me every once in awhile, you'd know that all this is for your own good."_

"_My own good?! How is being yelled at every single night good for me? It's the EXACT opposite," I tried to wriggle my hands from his strong grip as tears started rolling down my face._

"_You're not good for ANYTHING Bella; I just want you to know that it's true." He shouted in my face._

"_Just, let go of me, I want out." I keep trying to move out of his grasp as he clutched my wrists tighter making it hurt._

"_Silly Bella, the more you try to leave, the harder it'll be to get from me. So be a good little girl and stay still." He let go of with one hand and rubbed my cheek with it. "See Bella, I still love you. You just need to start behaving."_

"_Kaiden. Let me go! I don't want to be here anymore." I tried moving again._

_All of a sudden I saw his eyes grow furious as he slapped me across the face._

I woke up as I screamed; I turned on my light and realized I had tears streaming down my face. The dream felt so real… Too real. I pulled my knees up to my chest and started crying harder.

"Bella, are you okay?!" Alice opened my door and ran to sit down by me on my bed. She knew exactly what happened, I've had this same dream for the past year on and off. I didn't respond, she sat there hugging me repeating "It'll be okay Bella; he's not near us anywhere." I knew this was true, and I knew that it was just a dream from that last dreaded night after graduation.

I honestly didn't know my relationship was that bad up until a week before that night. Two years spent with the (what seemed to be) the most perfect guy I could ask for. He wasn't abusive till that last week, never even argued with me. He was sweet, caring and loyal; it just didn't make any sense at that point. I hoped that it'd last forever, but I was mistaken.

All of a sudden it took a turn for the worst. He was always calling me to ask where I was and who I was with. He constantly thought that I was cheating on him, which I'd never do. He was paranoid about EVERYTHING.

After that night we was taken to jail for physical abuse. After then I learned that he started taking drugs with some of his 'best friends'. I cried because I had no idea, as far as I was concerned he didn't even like the idea of doing that.

After thinking, more like remembering, those memories I look Alice in the eye. "I… Still miss him, not how he hurt me, or any of that. But before that, when our relationship was.. right, and I felt like I had everything in the world." My voice became soft as she listened intently.

"Bella, the way things worked out are for the best. I understand that you miss the relationship, everyone would. But he's changed; he's not the same guy that you first loved. You don't want to be in with someone like that." I knew she was right, it just always makes me wonder, where would I be right this second if he hadn't started the drugs…

"Thanks for always helping me through this Alice; you really are my best friend." I smiled at her.

"No problem, now go to sleep, you have work in the morning. And you might see Edward." I laughed along with her; she always knew how to make me laugh. I hugged her as she walked out of the room after turning off my light.

--

_Buzz. Snooze. Buzz. Snooze. Buzz._

I rolled over and saw the big red letters on my alarm clock, 6.35. I groaned and turned off the annoying alarm, realizing I had to leave in fifteen minutes. I was glad I didn't have the reoccurring nightmare for the second half of what I slept last night. I got out of bed and grabbed some clothes out of my closet and went to shower. After taking a short shower I dried my hair and went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. I grabbed a granola bar, my bag and keys and headed out the door.

It was raining so I decided to take my car today. I was glad it wasn't such a long drive to work. I clocked in at 6.58. I grabbed my apron and started getting everything ready as the first usual customers walked in the door.

"Good Morning!" I said as I started making the same drinks for them as I had for the past two months. They paid and left after some small talk and there was a constant flow of one or two people for the next couple hours. Then finally it died down.

I wiped down the counters and tables throughout the small lobby. I picked up one of the magazines that we sold also and flipped through the pages. The bells rang on our door as another customer walked in. without looking up I said, "Good morning, what can I get you?"

"I don't know, what do you recommend?" it was then that I looked up to see who it was. Edward.

"Uhm, I guess it just depends on what kind of flavors you like." I said as I smiled.

"Surprise me," He chuckled, pausing for a little. "How are you doing this morning Bella?"

I started making his white chocolate mocha, "I'm doing pretty good, not very busy today. How are you?"

"I'm doing alright." As I finished up he sat down at the counter and paid. "This is pretty good, thank you." He said after taking a sip.

"Anytime, what are you up too for the day?" I asked wiping down the counters.

"Studying, I have test in a few of my classes." He answered, plainly.

"Gotta love the college life!" I said with a laugh.

"Yea, such a fun time!" He spoke with heavy sarcasm in his voice as he looked at his watch. "Well I do have to go, I have an appointment before I head back to my apartment, hopefully I'll see you around sometime Bella."

"Bye Edward, have a good day." I said as a waved.

The rest of the work day I was in a haze, wondering if I'd ever see him again…

**A/N-I'd like to thank my best friend Krista for being my Beta. And… also my boyfriend for giving me the idea that proofreading wouldn't be a bad thing=p Thanks KristaLenn! 3**


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